Name: Trebuchet
Location: Europe and elsewhere
Designer: n/a
Built: Middle Ages (pre-1700s)
Successful: Yes
Used most commonly in the Middle Ages, trebuchets fired many projectiles, some weighing over three hundred pounds. Most of the projectiles were rough hewn stone rocks used to take down walls during sieges and occasionally battles.
Different trebuchets function differently, but there is a general building principle behind most of them. The trebuchet is pulled back, usually by two men turning a wheel or a crank. The base of the trebuchet and the end that does not have the sling must be very heavy. When the trebuchet is fully pulled back, the ammunition is loaded in the sling and the ropes are cut which releases the accumulated tension and send the ammunition catapulting forward.
Trebuchets were built primarily out of wood and stone-- those materials that were most accessible in the Middle Ages. Because there were many different varieties, designs, and innovations with siege weapons during this time, the cost of a trebuchet during this time was hard to determine. Later on, trebuchets were replaced in favor of gunpowder and metal, but during their prime they were the most accurate and powerful seige weapons of war.
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